How Is Sailing On Large Bodies Of Water?

sunny smith

New Member
When I was younger my dad had a sunfish and it was fun taking it in the small lake in Texas. We then got a Catalina 22 and it felt like it was to big for that body of water. It felt like it got boring really quick as we would sail the whole body in less than a day. We would also spent most of our time tacking. Sometimes we would take us 30 minutes to get out and 2 hours to get back. The wind would normally be behind us as we went through the narrow strait that led to lake.

I am wondering is sailing a whole different experience when you can go to many different locations and be out for days? I have a 19ft Cuddy that I have been enjoying for over a year. I am wondering one day upgrading to a 35+ footer and going exploring on the weekends. I guess my main worry is getting bored with the larger boat. I might try crewing a race boat as that might help me decide.
 
The bigger the body of water the more variables. Sailing in the Great lakes, for instance, is as close to sailing in the ocean as any freshwater boater can get.

I've sailed in small lake, medium lake, river and bay.

The thing that makes me most nervous about larger bodies of water is the powerboats. They could easily capsize a small boat with their wake. Many owners seem to get a laugh out of this and unfortunatly it's quite dangerous. Even near a well-known sunfish sailing school with young kids and a cop sitting on a boat with a speed gun in a no wake zone boats have been clocked at 10-15mph. I'd take an ocean swell above that, since you can see the wave on the horizon and prepare, but are not often prepared for a inconsiderate driver.
 
going from a small lake to the ocean is a big change, the ocean is unforgiving and things can change very quickly, you need to be well prepared to sail in the ocean and sometimes thats not enough, read this story about Low Speed Chase http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Low-Speed-Chase-Survivor-Absolutely-Devastated--147822565.html

This is what they sailed through and thats not even close to what the ocean has to offer,

I was in 20-25ft seas with gale force winds for about 12 hrs on a huge commercial ship and it was rough, I can't even imagine what it'd be like on a smaller boat, I could still feel the waves for at least 3-4 days after I was back on land

that being said, when the conditions are nice, the wind is more consistent and you have a ton of space to sail in the ocean
 
When I was younger my dad had a sunfish and it was fun taking it in the small lake in Texas. We then got a Catalina 22 and it felt like it was to big for that body of water. It felt like it got boring really quick as we would sail the whole body in less than a day. We would also spent most of our time tacking. Sometimes we would take us 30 minutes to get out and 2 hours to get back. The wind would normally be behind us as we went through the narrow strait that led to lake.

I am wondering is sailing a whole different experience when you can go to many different locations and be out for days? I have a 19ft Cuddy that I have been enjoying for over a year. I am wondering one day upgrading to a 35+ footer and going exploring on the weekends. I guess my main worry is getting bored with the larger boat. I might try crewing a race boat as that might help me decide.

I use to Sail a 46 Foot Cal Yacht and am now going to purchase another 50 footer and sail from Santa Cruz Ca to Singapore, It will take about 2 months and we will sail 24 hrs a day until we reach the next accessible island, then re provision and leave again. The point I am trying to make is follow your dream and have confidence you can do it. This is quite a first trip for me over 10,000 miles . But if not now when. Most people will not break away before it is to late. Ron A
 

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